


You're A Stranger To Me

by reddish



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: F/F, Mass Effect 2: Lair of the Shadow Broker, implied Shakarian
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-16
Updated: 2013-06-16
Packaged: 2017-12-15 03:48:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/844953
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reddish/pseuds/reddish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Winter and Liara reunite during LoTSB, but there's a lot of unfinished business hanging over them. Jealousy, betrayal, resentment... woo!</p>
            </blockquote>





	You're A Stranger To Me

            Winter still remembered the chill that ran down her spine when she walked into Liara's apartment and was greeted with a police cordon. Bullet holes through the windows made the chill turn into a freeze.

            The way Liara was acting now that Winter had found her, though... this was a blizzard.

            "We have to get to Feron," Liara stated as soon as the Spectre-turned-Shadow-Broker-Agent was dead. The young asari was already walking away, omni-tool active and running.

            "Hey," Winter called as she chased after her. "Slow down a second!"

            "We do not have time for that. We have to get to the Shadow Broker. I have the coordinates to his base, and I am uploading them to the Normandy now. Hopefully we can get off world and be there in a few hours. We have to hurry, though. He will know Vasir is dead before long, and if he hurts Feron..."

            Winter shook her head. "We'll get him out of there, Liara. I promise."

            Liara stopped her escape and turned to look at her friend. "Yes," she said, smiling sadly. "Here you are, ready and eager to help me. Just like old times."

            Winter took a step back, narrowing her eyes. "If my help isn't wanted, I can leave. I do have a _galaxy_ to save."

            "No, Shepard, it's just..." Liara sighed. "When we first met, I was the young naive scholar, surrounded by geth and slowly starving in a stasis barrier. You saved me then. You faced a krogan battlemaster for me as I cowered behind control panels. And now we are doing this again."

            "You don't seem to be cowering," Winter observed, gesturing to Liara's new armor and weaponry.

            "Yes, but you will always be the hero of the story, won't you?" Liara retorted, resuming her stride.

            Winter followed, too frustrated to give up.

            "Anyway, The Shadow Broker's agents are still busy attacking their way through Ilium. If we leave now, they won't notice we are even gone."

            "Liara, they're killing people down there. Don't you care?"

            Liara paused and turned again. "You know what I meant, Shepard."

            "See, I'm not sure I do. I'm used to being callous, Liara. I've been through a hell of a lot. Shit, I _died_ and I'm still here. I do what has to be done, but I still blink twice when innocents die. This just seems like a game to you. You didn't even seem to notice when I fell a couple stories with Vasir; you were too set on your own target."

            Liara glowered at Winter. "I have seen what you are capable of, Winter. I know it takes more than a fall to hurt you. Besides, I had to keep track of her. I had to stay rational and make the necessary calls. Like I did with Saket."

            "Yeah, you're _clearly_ staying rational. Getting your friends and contacts killed to achieve a mission you've been obsessed with for two years. Sounds perfectly logical."

            "How dare you," Liara spat. "You don’t know what it has been like for me."

            "Because you won't fucking talk to me!" Winter shouted.

            "I can't! Do you not understand? I am an information broker. My entire life is now riddled with secrets and knowledge that I cannot share with anyone."

            "You chose this job," Winter said, shaking her head. "You've always craved knowledge, Liara. Don't pretend you're a victim here."

            Liara hung her head, defenses failing against Winter's attacks. "This job chose me the moment I realized I could save you. That I could finally be the hero you needed, Shepard. But it comes at a cost."

            Winter was finally at a loss for words. Liara took the opportunity to grit her teeth and resume her walk.

            "From here, the job is simple, all right? We get in, we get Feron, and we get out. And we kill anyone in our way."

            "That's it?" Winter murmured, following.

            "That's it." Liara agreed, doubling her pace.

            Winter sighed and jogged to catch up to her, reaching out to grab her arm.  "Hey, just stop for a second, please."

            The asari stopped and turned. For a moment, Winter could see the lines of exhaustion and tension on Liara's face, but they disappeared in a flash. "What? Why won't you let us be off this planet?"

            "Look, we're going to be traveling for a while. That gives us plenty of time to talk. Promise me you'll talk to me. Once we're safe."

            "Talk about what?" Liara sighed.

            "About whatever there is here between us!" Winter shouted. "Dammit, Liara. I just want to know how you are, how you've been."

            "Shepard, listen. I'm... I'm glad you're here," Liara was leading up to a "but" and it made Winter's blood boil.

            "But what? You're worried there's some terminals you need me to hack?"

            Liara's face was somehow pained and furious all at once. "That's not fair. You were dead, Winter. I did what I had to do."

            "And so I came back! And you were the only person in the goddamned galaxy who knew I'd be back. That excuse doesn't fly here."

            "Yes, you came back," Liara conceded, but Winter could tell by her tone this wasn't going to go anywhere good. "You came back, and now Garrus is doing a lot more than calibrating the Normandy's guns!"

            "How the fuck do you even--," Winter started.

            "I am an _information_ broker, Shepard. It is my job to know things."

            "It's your job to spy on me? All while treating me like a stranger?"

            "I was spying on Cerberus, to see what they have been doing for you. To you." Liara held her hand to her head. "Look, I am sorry," she started.

            "No. Fuck your sorry, Liara. You were someone I trusted early, someone I opened up to. You want to talk about how hard it's been? I woke up, broken, scarred, and alone on a Cerberus station surrounded by the enemy who suddenly informed me they were my only allies. I was abandoned, Liara. Every resource I had was cut off from me because of my newfound Cerberus connections. My old friends and crew have said horrible things to me, and you... you of all people should have known that I needed someone to trust. But instead, I show up and you act like I'm inconveniencing you by existing. You dump me in your headquarters, use the favorite 'But you were dead!' excuse to explain treating me like I'm garbage, and then you have the nerve to get onto me for flirting with Garrus? Face it, Liara. This is all your fault."

            "You think I am not aware of that!?" Liara shouted, tears suddenly in her eyes. "You think I believe my choices did not lead to this? I could not let you go, Winter. I needed you. The galaxy needed you. And the price I paid to save you was losing you again. Losing you to Cerberus. Losing you to my work.

            "And the worst part," Liara started, trying to hold back her emotions and regain control. "The worst part is knowing that I brought you back with the weight of the galaxy on your shoulders again. That you still have to face the Reapers, and that I may lose you yet again."

            "Am I supposed to feel sorry for you?" Winter said, no malice in her voice. She felt empty, not enraged.

            "No," Liara shook her head. "I am trying to say sorry. For my role in this. For not letting you go when I should have. For being cold, distant." Liara met Winter's eyes. "You were the world to me, Shepard. You were and will always be my inspiration to grow, to do better for more people. But I must use the skills I have to do it."

            A weight slowly eased off of Winter's shoulders, and she felt some of the anger she had been holding onto dissipate, replaced by wistful understanding.

            "I'm sorry, Liara. I've... it's been hard. For both of us, I guess. But I see what you've done, and what you're doing, and... I am proud of you. Even if I don't understand it. And I miss you."

            Liara smiled sadly at Winter, taking a step closer to her. "I miss you, too, Shepard. But I know you will be okay."

            "How do you know that?" Winter closed the distance between them, wrapping her arms around Liara's waist. Liara laid her head to rest in the crook of Winter's chest and neck. Winter slid her arms up Liara's back, holding her close.

            "I am an information broker, Shepard," Liara whispered as she let her eyes close for a moment. "Knowing things is what I do."

            


End file.
